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“We find out how to turn you ghoul, we could do this long term.”
This isn’t what he had in mind. She was gently laid on the ground before him with blue lips and blood smeared down her chin. Danse was kneeling the best he could in his power armor, refusing to look at the ghoul and yet he swore he saw the man’s stoic nature falter as he hesitantly tried to wipe away bits or armor embedded into her chest.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
His snarling voice sounded more feral than himself and he immediately regretted it when the Brotherhood Paladin looked up at him curiously, or perhaps puzzling together a strategy to end him should he turn feral at a moment’s notice. “She isn’t dead, freak. But there’s nothing a doctor can do for her.” The Paladins voice softened. “I figured she’d want to be here before-”
“Hancock?”
The ghoul’s heart stopped when he heard her broken voice sputter out his name, followed by a new trail of blood spilling from the side of her mouth. Her right eye was bruised and swollen shut, and yet the other held a steady gaze with him. He didn’t know if it was the chems in his system or the sudden need to save her, but without a word he kneeled and picked her up carefully in his arms and headed south.
Danse turned to glare at his back as he walked away with Katherine limply hanging in his arms. He quickly stood and marched behind the ghoul. “Where are you going with her?”
“Glowing Sea.”
The Paladin grabbed his shoulder harshly. “Don’t even think about it,” he hissed.
Hancock chuckled. “I already have,” he spat, shrugging the power armors colossal hand from his shoulder. “If you think I ain’t gonna save her the only way I can think to do, you can try killin’ me first.”
…
The whole journey to the Glowing Sea had him debating whether to turn back, but every time he looked down at her he saw a small piece of her fade away from her vibrant eyes to her pink lips that could barely smile. He wanted to vomit.
“Katherine.”
She opened her good eye weakly. “Yes?”
A lump formed in his throat. He didn’t have a lot of time left to act, but ultimately it was her decision that would decide if he saved her or not. He chuckled, smiling down at her. “Remember what I said about doing this long term?”
Katherine nodded weakly. “What..about it?”
Hancock let out a shaky sigh. “Well, how…how would you like to do that? Right now?”
Her reaction wasn’t what he expected as she struggled to leave his arms and stare into the thick radiated fog at the Glowing Sea’s edge. His body stilled when she limped behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders.
“Give me a nice view?”
In all his years of being a ghoul, Hancock never cried, but whether he liked it or not tears fell from his charcoal eyes though he made sure Katherine couldn’t see it lest she feel guilty or something stupid like that. If anything, he felt guilty for having to turn her into a damn ghoul, and there was always the tiny voice in his head telling him she’d turn feral. He lifted her onto his back and began to walk along the road far enough to where they stood staring into the radiated depths littered with pools of steaming water and the faint glow of the sun overhead. Katherine’s arms were tightly wrapped around his shoulders as she looked on in wonderment.
“Ain’t it nice?” he asked softly.
She coughed into her left hand, spraying it with coppery cruor before holding onto him again. She smiled nevertheless. “It’s beautiful, John.”
He swallowed thickly. “I didn’t know what else to do,” he said, more so to himself though he knew Katherine heard him.
Her voice was growing raspy from the air. “Actually, I was hoping we could do this.”
Hancock turned his head to look at her, her good eye dotted with flecks of charcoal and her skin already burning along her neck and cheek. “Why?”
Katherine looked at him. “Because you, you’re the best thing I got.”